Nissan Skyline R32/R33 GTR

Congrats! Enjoy the anticipation

I wrote this ages ago, but mostly still applies
https://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?342007-Gui...

but specifically
- Yes you can insure the car on its chassis number until it's registered
- Yes pay VAT and import duty through a shipping agent before collection
- Then get the car home
- Then get a rear foglight fitted
- Then MoT (no IVA or SVA required on cars over 10 years old)
- Then apply to the DVLA to register the car (after passing MoT)
- Then Halfords or similar for the physical number plates

With the car insured on the VIN only and no plates affixed expect to get pulled by the police if they spot you and although your not technically braking the law you'll have to explain to them what your doing and produce docs. GOV.co.uk advise is to have the car trailered.There are plenty of independants who'll collect the car for you and deliver to your home address saving you a load of hassle,just make sure their properly insured and tacho'd.

If you did drive it away from the docks can you trust it 100% to drive ok without any issues? especially if you have some distance to go and before you drive off make sure you check everything,oil,coolant,tyre pressures etc etc I've seen some people just jump in and drive away without checking anything which is reckless! remember the car will have been sat around for quite some time.

Good luck,cool cars!

So on arrival, you should have the car insured (on the VIN) but with no registration, MoT or tax.

My understanding is that you can only drive the car 'to or from a pre-arranged MoT appointment' in this state (an MoT pass being a pre-requisite for registration and tax). Thus you could arrange to drive the car from the docks to a garage for an MoT. Or if the route from the port to the garage took you past your house, well ;-)

I drove my car home from Southampton Port to Croydon, up the M3, including stopping for fuel, on this pretext. The only issue was the battery was completely dead, so had to leave the engine running all the time. Otherwise no issue with the car or authorities. And there are fewer police around now than in 2007.

I think it's clear that (a) you can drive it to an MoT appointment (b) it's safer (all around) to get it transported - and therefore the choice is yours depending on your budget & risk tolerance.

Agree with above, transport is the safe option and the only way I do it now.

Ive done it once in the past driving straight for the MOT but it felt pretty dodgy

You run risks around tyres etc and so many unknowns in the weeks it takes to get here, so better have some comfort and peace knowing it'll get where you need it safely. Also, its not much but you do also pay a DVLA adjustment charge on top of VAT and Duty, just in case you are calculating exact numbers.

Just a moot point, you dont need to have insurance to get it registered, but it might be good to have it anyway. Ive done without it until my plates were ready to avoid some hassles but that was on cheaper stuff where i wasnt so bothered.

Updating thread. Car arrived in Jan. I did get the car transported rather than drive it to avoid any hassle or risk anything going wrong. Unfortunately the interior had become very mouldy on its journey over to the UK which was a shock on the day of collection. Thankfully I managed to find a great mobile valeter who sorted this out.
It took a while to get everything sorted with dvla paper work, MOT etc plus arrival of first child so it was April before it was actually on the road. I found a nearby Jap specialist who gave the car a full service, replaced some suspension bushes, exhaust repair and timing belt replacement.
The AC controller wasn't working but i managed to buy a replacement at a good price on eBay so this is now working.
I've booked the car in to get a tracker and immbiliser installed.
My front windscreen washer jets have stopped working so this is my next job to tackle.

I'm really enjoying the car in it's standard form at the moment but I do think there will come a time where it might be fun to increase the power.

How you getting on with the GTR32 OP?

Hi Simon,

Things are going great. Over the summer I took it out as much as I could and loved every minute. It attracts a lot of attention, a lot more than I thought it would. If I'm honest I see this as a small down side!
It handles very well but the suspension on mine does need some tlc- it's very crashy over bumps and pot holes. I need to research what I'm gonna do here and get some advice on what needs replacing to make things feel better. I want to retain the original ride height because of the steep angle of my drive way.
I have a few DIY jobs that need completing in time for spring when I'll be driving it more again: oil and oil filter l, discs and pads on the front, top up the bilt hamber underseal, the front washer jet motor has stopped working so need to repair this, the JDM radio doesn't pick up any UK stations so want to replace this and need to investigate why the clutch pedal makes a creaking sound.
My car is completely standard. The boost restrictor is also still present. I am tempted to turn up the power slightly with a nistune board but have been warned against doing this due to the age of the ceramic turbos. Things get expensive very quickly if I want to replace the turbos. So might have to leave the power level as it is for now. I do enjoy driving the car in it's factory state of tune but the temptation for more power is always there.

Kind of wish I hadn't sold mine! Bought it in 2003 with about 400bhp and sold in 2008 with 530bhp

Been reading through this thread again with interest. I've also been hankering after an R32 / R32 GTR for a long time, with a R32 being my preference. I'm just in the process of selling my Impreza Spec C RA, and based on the recent market cooling and weak Yen, I'm thinking it might be the time to bite the bullet! I had intended to use the money for something more sensible but....

I've only imported one car in the past (Evo 5) and that was through Torque GT, which was a very smooth process and offered peace of mind. Although I'm thinking this time I might try a smaller local importer to save some costs (hopefully not a false economy). Although it sounds like the process you used OP was straight forward enough, handling all the registration process etc after the car was sourced through smilejv?

Sometimes it's good to do sensible things and sometimes you need to do not so sensible things, if they make you happy!

I did try going through a few of the big UK import companies but I think around the time I was trying to purchase, the demand for Japanese classics was probably at its peak. They all seemed very busy and I wasn't really making any progress with them i.e. emails unanswered, phonecalls not returned and cars being sold for even more bonkers prices than now.

I'm glad I imported the car the way I did. I was a bit anxious at first as it felt like I was taking a gamble - transferring large amounts of funds to someone abroad and if something was to go wrong... Thankfully SmileJV and Brendan were great to deal with. I had a Zoom call with Brendan to discuss what I was after and he talked me through the process. He has a good website and we kept in touch regularly via email and text messages. I wouldn't hesitate to use him again. He helped me to find a really nice car in good condition. I used a currency exchange company to transfer funds as the rates were much better than through my bank. I used a shipping agent on the UK side recommended by Brendan who helped me to sort paying the import taxes etc.

Yes I handled everything when the car arrived in the UK. It's relatively straightforward. I used the guide made by a piston head member in an earlier post on this thread. It took a while for everything to come back from the DVLA but eventually everything was sorted.

If you're going to buy in Japan I'd recommend going over and making a holiday of it. I would have but in summer 2022 Japan was still not allowing tourists in due to COVID pandemic. I've never been, it's my dream to go one day!